The girl
by JoKerNa
Summary: When Severus Snape returns to Spinner's End for summer, he meets his new neighbor; a young girl. Can Severus save her from her abusing parents? Could they actually become...Friends? SS/OC. Hurt/comfort and friendship. Rating for abuse and language.
1. Chapter 1

Severus Snape walked along the halls of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. He was on his way home to Spinners End, since it was now the end of term.

Usually, Severus would just stay at the school, but this year it felt...Different. Almost as if he had to go. Although, the fact that Dumbledore had forced him to leave didn't make him want to return to the house any more than usual.

When Severus finally had reached the gate, he apparated away. He landed in an alley, close to his house in Spinner's End. Severus disliked being at his childhood house, because it reminded him that Lily Evans was no longer there. Yes; Lily Evans, not Potter. To Severus, Lily was always an Evans.

Pushing away the memories of his only love, he made his way to his house.

While walking, he passed the house next to his, and noticed that there was light inside. He was slightly surprised, since no one had lived there since the former owner, Mrs. Bings, had died. Severus didn't think about it much, since he was rarely at the house.

When Severus was about to pass the house, a shadow caught his eyes. As an instinct, he slipped his hand in to his robes, grabbing a hold of his wand. As an ex-death eater (if it was even possible to be and ex-death eater), he had long gotten used to the dangers even a shadow could bring.

Just as he was about to pull out his wand and fire a curse, he noticed that the shadow was unusually small… and female. He relaxed slightly, but not completely. Even a woman could be deadly, that Severus had learnt from Bellatrix Lestrange.

Slowly, as if trying not to be seen, Severus turned around to face what he thought was the enemy. Of course, Severus had been wrong. Instead of a dangerous woman like Bellatrix, he was faced with a young girl, no more than fifteen, who was staring at him in fear. Severus could see her body shaking and shielding away from him, like she expected him to hit her. Severus couldn't help but to feel a small pang of pity as he watched her. Many small and large bruises could be seen on the girls bear arms.

"Are you following me, girl?!" Severus snarled, still slightly suspicious.

"I-I'm not, sir. I live r-right there." The girls said in a shaky voice and pointed to the house Severus was about to pass. Severus didn't bother to answer; he just turned around and started walking to his own house. As he walked, Severus couldn't help but to think of the bruises on the girl's arms. As an abused child himself, he instantly knew she was abused. When he arrived to the front door of his house, he didn't think more of the girl he had seen.

Once inside of the place he hadn't sat a foot in for years, Severus took out a bottle of fire whisky he'd had for years and poured himself a drink. After he had taken the glass in his hands, he sat down in his chair in front of the fire.

As he drowned the drink and watched the fire, his mind wandered off to the girl. If he just had helped her, maybe he wouldn't feel so guilty. He wasn't even sure why he felt guilty. What he did know though, was that he wouldn't get any sleep with his mind filled with all kinds of thoughts.

With a sight, Severus stood from the chair and poured himself another drink, hoping that once drunk, his mind would clear. But things are never so easy, are they?

After a few drinks, Severus head was a bit fuzzy. Since he had a high alcohol level, even getting drunk was a struggle to him.

As he was about to pour himself another drink, a movement in his window caught his eye. He had forgotten to pull the binds in the window, so it had a clear view of the house next door and it's window.

The movement he had seen was no other then the girl he'd meet just a mare hour ago. As Severus watched threw the window, he saw that the girl was cleaning.

It must have been over a minute that Severus watched the girl, but he soon caught himself. When he was about to turn around, he noticed a man walk up behind the girl. That would have been a normal thing, if it hadn't been for the fact that as soon the girl had turned around; a hit was made at her face.

Severus watched in horror as the girl fell to the floor, holding one of her hands on her reddening cheek. If it had been someone else, that person would have raced to help the poor girl, but not Severus. He knew he couldn't do anything to help the girl; what could he do? Kill her father? No, there was nothing he could do, or so he thought.

When Severus turned around, trying to ignore that a girl was being abused, he couldn't help but to feel guilty. It was a kind of emotion he hadn't felt since Lily had died. With guilt clouding his mind, Severus poured himself another drink and drowned it; hoping to drown away his guilt. But not even alcohol could drown away the image of the girl's face when she hit the floor.

That night, Severus fell in to an uneasy sleep; with the girl haunting his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides my OC and her father. The rest belongs to J.K Rowling.**_

_**Sorry if Severus is slightly OOC.**_

It was midday the next day and Severus was sitting in his chair, reading the Daily Prophet. He was about to turn the page of the paper, when Albus Dumbledore flu powdered in threw the fire place. Severus only nodded in greeting as Dumbledore let out a happy; "Good day, my boy!" and smiled to the-now- foul Severus.

"Why are you here Albus?" Severus asked when Dumbledore just stood silently by the fire place. Severus was about to ask again when Dumbledore started speaking.

"Severus, my boy, I believe you are aware of the fact that Lily's son, Harry, is going to join us at Hogwarts next year, am I correct?"

"Of course, Albus. How could I not? It's Lily's son" _And Potter's._ Potter's name went unspoken. Severus didn't like to say his enemy's name, nor did he want to admit that Lily had married him.

"Yes, it is Lily's and _James's _son. I am sure you remember the promise you made? To protect her son, Harry? I believe it is time for that. I have my reasons to believe that Voldemort will try to return and that would mean that young Harry's life may be in danger." As Dumbledore spoke, Severus felt fear running threw his body. Not only did he fear Harry's life, but his own too. If the Dark Lord was to return, that would mean that he'd be forced to become a spy, once again.

"Are you sure Albus?" Dumbledore looked at Severus, the usual spark in his eye gone; "Yes, I am sure my boy. However," The spark in Dumbledore's eye returned; "one a lighter note; there is still plenty of time left of the summer for you to relax. And who knows, maybe you'll gain a new friend too." Severus didn't miss the amused spark in Dumbledore's eye as he said those last words. What did he know?

Before Severus could ask, Dumbledore was gone. After a few minutes of sitting still and not doing anything except thinking of the information he'd just gotten, Severus stood up from his chair and walked over to his window. For some odd reason, Severus hoped to see the girl. For a few minutes, he stood there and looked out for the girl.

Just as he was about to give up, a shadow passed the house next doors window. Instead of the girl, the shadow turned out to be the girl's father. Severus turned around, not interested to look at the man who reminded himself of his own father, and walked over to his fire whiskey. Just as he was about to pour himself a drink, a knock on his door stopped him.

Severus sighted. He believed it to be the local kids at Spinner's End who was knocking on the door; they always made bets on who was brave enough to knock on the "bat's" door when he was seen home. Severus began to pour himself a drink again, ignoring the knock on his door.

After two other knocks, Severus had enough. If the kids wanted to be scared, so they would. With big steps, Severus stormed to the door and flung it open.

Just as he was about to speak, he noticed who it actually was that had knocked on the door. Instead of a young brat, the girl from next door stood there. When Severus saw the girl's expression, he realized how scary it must have looked to her. The first time she'd seen him, it had been dark, so she hadn't seen his sickly pale skin or how greasy his hair was. His nose didn't help him look less intimidating, since it was big and crooked. And even his clothes were scary; what kind of person walked around in big black robes with a cape? There was a reason to why kids called him an ugly bat.

"…Yes? How can I help _you?_" Severus said, his moth crooked in to a smirk.

"Hello, sir. I was wondering if you had any sugar I could borrow. I am baking a cake, but the sugar is missing. So I thought…" The girl trailed of when she noticed that Severus didn't move a muscle nor made any face expression, save for the smirk.

"No… I don't have any…_Sugar._" Severus had to admit, he didn't have any food in the house. If he needed food, he'd simply call a house elf from Hogwarts.

"Okay. Thank you anyway… Good day sir." The girl turned around to walk away when Severus noticed the bruise on her cheek. It was so big and blue that Severus was surprised he hadn't seen it before.

"Wait." The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. "I mean, I saw your bruise and I believe it needs to be checked out. If you want I could help you." As he spoke, Severus thought; '_Idiot. Now she's going to think you're some kind of creep. Besides, even if she wanted help, why would she dare to come close to you?' _ His thoughts where interrupted by a soft and barely noticeable "yes".

If it hadn't been for his uncanny ability of keeping his face cleans of emotions, Severus face had been showing shock. He had been sure she'd run away, screaming for help. Instead, it had only taken a few seconds for her to say yes. That girl sure was something.

Still slightly in shock, Severus led the girl in to his home to help her. As he saw her look around his house, Severus felt slightly embarrassed to the fact that almost everything was covered in dust. Either the girl didn't care about this, or she was a good actress, because her face didn't change one bit as Severus lead her to his chair to sit down.

Silence still hung the air as Severus went to his personal storage and took out a potion. He then walked back to the girl, whose name he still didn't know. Only slightly hesitant, Severus gave the potion to the girl, who too was hesitant to take it.

"What is this?" The girl asked as she saw the clear liquid inside the bottle.

"It's… It will help against the pain." Severus said, not knowing how to explain. Not only would the potion help with the pain he knew she felt, it would also last for many hours. So, if her father was to hit her again, no pain would be felt.

Slowly, the girl raised the bottle to her lips and swallowed the clear liquid. When she had swallowed it, she started feel a bit light headed.

'_Why did I trust him?_' The girl thought right before she passed out.

**Oh, no! What happened? You'll know in next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything concerning Harry Potter. I only own the girl and her parents. The rest belongs to J.K Rowling. **

Severus watched as the girl started wavering a bit. He mistook it as tiredness and didn't think about it. It then hit him that he didn't even know the girl's name. He couldn't keep on calling her 'the girl', could he? He was about to ask the girl her name, when he noticed that her wavering had become worse. Now slightly worried, Severus walked closer to the girl. He reached her just in time to catch her as she passed out.

Now very worried, Severus laid the girl on his couch and started to think about what it could have been to cause her passing out. It couldn't be the potion. The potion was completely harmless. Unless…Unless it's digested on an empty stomach. But if it had been for that reason, the girl had to have been without food for_ at least _12 hours. As he thought about it, Severus noticed that the girl _was _very thin.

Severus couldn't help but to feel even more pity for the girl. He himself had suffered that kind of thing from his own father.

With a sight, Severus sat down in his chair, waiting for the girl to wake up. As he waited, he continued to read The Daily Prophet, even though there wasn't any interesting news in the wizarding world.

It wasn't until an hour later that the girl started to stir. Severus, who was utterly bored, sighted in relief. He got out of his chair and walked to the couch, where a half waken girl was getting ready to stand up.

When the girl was sitting up and looked over to where he was standing, she suddenly looked frightened.

"What did you do to me?" She tried to sound strong, but there was fear in the girl's words as she spoke.

"I didn't do anything. The potion most likely reacted to your empty stomach. How long have it been since you ate the last time?" Severus asked the frightened girl.

The girl looked in deep thoughts, like she had to think really hard to figure out how long it had been since she ate. After a few seconds she whispered, so softly that Severus almost didn't hear it; "About two days." Severus looked at her in horror. She hadn't eaten for almost two days, what kind of parents did that to a mare child? Although, Severus wasn't all too surprised; his own parents had done the same. Or rather, his father had, but his mother hadn't tried to stop it.

"Come. Follow me." Severus didn't wait to see if the girl was following him; he stalked away to the kitchen. It was already too late when he realized his mistake; he didn't have any food in the house! He couldn't call a house elf, since that would mean exposing magic to a muggle, so what was he supposed to do?

The girl watched, curiously, around the house as she followed the man she didn't know the name of. When she walked and watched the house, she couldn't help but to wonder why she was following him. Sure, he had helped her; the bruise didn't hurt anymore, but he had also made her drink something that had caused her to pass out. Although, the passing out wasn't his fault, or so he said. He said it was because she hadn't eaten anything; which wasn't anything weird to the girl. She could go almost a week without eating; something she could do thanks to her parents. Her dad, Carl, often made her make dinner, then only to go without it. The girl's mother, Anna, hadn't denied the girl food, but never stopped Carl from doing so. All in all, not eating was normal to the girl.

The girl had been so deep in thought that she didn't even notice they'd arrived to the kitchen. As of this, she almost bumped in to the man in the cape, and was grateful when she didn't; who knew what he'd do if she had?

When she noticed that the man was just standing there, looking quite lost, she dared to speak. "Excuse me, sir? Why are we here?" she asked in a small voice.

The girl held her breath as she watched the man turn around, hoping for her life that she hadn't spoken out of place and get hit. For all she knew, the man could be just like her father.

"I am… You need to eat, so I shall bring you food. I beg you not to scream," the man said, his voice dry. A few seconds later he called; "Milly!"

A second later, a pop was heard and in front of the girl stood an elf. Of course, the girl didn't know it was an elf, nor did she know it was a nice one. So, she did the thing she thought to be the most rational thing; she screamed.

When the girl started screaming, Milly the elf started panicking, screaming; "Oh, no! Milly made master's friend afraid. Must be punished, yes she must" and while screaming this, she picked up the nearest hard thing, a wooden spoon, and started hitting herself.

When the girl saw this, she stopped screaming and instead felt sorry for the elf and tried to stop it from hitting herself. But that was harder than it sounded.

Severus watched in amusement as the girl tried to stop the poor elf from hitting itself, but soon had enough. "Milly! Go and fetch some food for the girl" Severus said and remembered that he still didn't know the girl's name.

"Of course master!" Milly piped and stopped hitting herself and with a loud 'pop' she was gone and left Severus and the girl in silence.

As the silence continued, Severus realized something. He had just reviled magic to a muggle, so why hadn't a ministry owl come? Could it be so that the girl was a…Witch?

**Is the girl really a witch? You'll find out soon if she is and you'll also find out her name closer to the end. This is a short-ish story, so it won't be long 'til you do.**


	4. Chapter 4

Startled out of his own thoughts, Severus looked over to the young girl, who was looking at him with a curious expression.

"Are you alright, sir? You've been starring out to space for a while" The girl said and when he saw the food in front of her, Severus knew she was right. He'd been so spaced out that he hadn't even noticed when Milly had returned with food for the girl.

"Yes, I am quite fine. But I do have a question for you. But it can wait until you have eaten" Severus told the girl, who was staring at him in questioning instead of eating. After his statement, the girl nodded and slowly started eating. She ate with Severus watching over her, as if he was making sure she really was eating and the girl couldn't help but to feel happy. It was the first time in years that she felt like someone cared about her. In fact, when she thought about it, she hadn't felt like that since she was eleven. It was sad, yet true.

When she had eaten about half of her food, she stopped. She was too full to eat another bite and was glad when Severus understood this, as he too knew it was hard to eat much after so long time.

Severus waited a few minutes, to let the girl digest some of the food, before asking the unspoken question; "Who are your parents?"

The girl looked surprised out at the question, but answered; "My mother's name is Anna and my dad's Carl. The last name is Coleman"

The name was not one Severus recognized, so he asked; "Your mother, what was her maiden name?"

The girl thought about it for a small while; it had been a long time since her mother had mentioned her family name, as she'd never been quite proud of her family. Finally, the girl spoke; "I think it was Hardy, why?"

At first, Severus didn't recognize the name, but he soon remembered a pureblooded girl who was a year above him when he attended Hogwarts. Her name had been Jessica Hardy, and if Severus was correct, she'd had an older sister; who was a squib. Severus could remember how Jessica had been complaining about going home over Christmas, because she had to see her filthy sister; the squib. Severus thought hard; what had the sister's name been? _Annalisa? No, Anna…Annabelle. Yes, Annabelle. _

"Girl, do you remember if you got a letter on your eleventh birthday?" Severus asked, ignoring the girl's question.

The girl thought hard and soon she did remember getting a letter; but she hadn't gotten a chance to open it before her mother had ripped it out of her hands. When she thought harder, the girl realized that it was around that time that her dad started his abuse on her and when her mother simply stopped caring about her. "Yes, I did receive a letter, although, I never got to read it. My mother took it away before I could. Why?"

Severus nodded, as if he was in deep thoughts, which he was. He had been right. The girl was a witch, and her parents probably never wanted her to know about it. Most likely, just like it had been with his own father, the girl's parents didn't like the fact that their child was a witch while they didn't have any magical blood in them. The more he thought about it, Severus realized just how alike he and the girl where.

"There is something you must know. I beg you not to, as kids there day's say, 'freak' out. I believe you to be, just like I am, a w-"before Severus could tell the girl about his new found information, a loud yell was heard. The girl jumped out of the chair she'd been sitting on while eaten, terrified.

"It's my father! I must go! Thank you for everything!" and before Severus could get another word out, the girl was gone.

Severus didn't move from his spot where he was standing until several minutes later. The reason to why he hadn't moved was for a fact; the girl was being beaten as he stood there. He wasn't so sure that she was, but if they really were as alike he thought they were, she was being beaten.

Severus knew he probably should have done something; but yet he didn't. As the minutes passed, Severus was disgusted of himself. How could he just stand there while an innocent young girl was being beaten, all because he'd insisted on her coming in? Severus tried to ignore the feelings; something he'd gotten somewhat an expert on, but failed. Why was it, that all those years of ignoring his emotions were ruined, all because of a young girl he didn't know?

Another few minutes passed and finally Severus couldn't take it anymore, he had to see if the girl was alright. With his cloak fluttering behind him, Severus took the small walk to the house next door and knocked on the door. As a minute passed without anyone opening the door, he knocked again. He was about to barge in, as he was worried for the girl, when he heard a shout; "Open the door, stupid girl!" Severus knew the voice from before; it was the girl's father, _Carl._

Soon after the shout, the door was opened, by the girl. Only…She didn't look like she had just twenty minutes earlier. Now, her face had a cut on her cheek, with a bruise forming on it. Her lip was bused and there was some blood smeared on it too.

As Severus took in her form, which appeared to be shaking, he cursed himself. How could he have let it happen? In that moment, as his eyes moved over her, he promised something. Never again would that monster of a man she called father touch her again. He would not fail her, as he had with Lily.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you alright?" was the first thing to leave Severus mouth, even though he knew the girl wasn't really okay. She may not have been in pain, thanks to his potion, but she could still feel _something_ and it wasn't something good. If the girl where to guess, she'd guess that her wrist was broken.

Before the girl could answer Severus question, her father came up behind her shaking form and grabbed her shoulder in a, what looked like, a death grip. "You know what I've told you about open the door to strangers, yet you open the door. Why?!" her father practically screamed in to her ear, not caring that a royally pissed of wizard was standing right in front of them, ready to kill him if necessary.

"Y-you t-told m-me to" the girl shakily said. Her response only made her father angrier, who, with the help of the hand on her shoulder, threw the girl behind him. The girl was thrown so hard, that when she hit a wall, a crack was heard. If her wrist wasn't broken before, it was now.

That was all it took for Severus; he took his wand up and pointed it to a, now, frightened Carl. Since Carl was a muggle, and his wife a squib, he wasn't familiar with magic, but he was smart enough to know when to be scared. His wife had told him about the horrible curses; the unforgivable ones. By the looks of Severus, Carl didn't have any doubts; if he didn't play his cards right, he'd be cursed with something nasty.

The girl stood up, slowly, despite the pain her face showed. She then slowly moved closer to the two men, but stopped when she saw the wand (or stick, as she thought it was) Severus was pointing at her father.

"Girl, get out of here and go to my house. _Now!_" Severus spoke to the frightened girl, who didn't know what to do. What if the man hurt her father? Even if the girl didn't _exactly _love her father, she didn't want him to be hurt, even after what he had done to her. He was her father, after all. But the girl also knew that, however things would go down, she didn't want to see it. So, quickly, she walked passed Severus and ran to his house.

When the girl was gone, Severus spoke to the scared man. "If I _ever _see you touch or hit that girl again, you won't live much longer" he threatened. He only did that, because he didn't want to hurt the man. Not _really_, anyway. Despite his anger to the man, Severus couldn't kill him. He'd sworn he'd never do anything involving the dark magic again, and he was going to keep that as long he could. Threatening, on the other hand, was something he gladly did.

Carl was afraid, yes, but he wasn't about to give up without a fight. Against wizard or no wizard, he didn't care; but he wasn't about to let the girl get away. Of course, Carl pretended that he understood Severus threat and wasn't going to hurt the girl. The girl would be home soon enough, and when she was; it would not be pretty.

Despite Severus treating the girl's father, he knew it wasn't enough; his father had thought him that when he'd tried to stop the beatings with threatening of using magic. Sure, the muggle might be frightened, but Severus knew from experience that the fear eventually would pass and once it had, the girl was no longer safe.

Lost at what to do, since he couldn't simply kill the girl's father, Severus made his way back to his own home after a few more threats to _Carl._

Severus stood outside his door for a few moments before entering and immediately seeing a small form sitting in his chair. It was an odd sight to him; it had been many years since someone had sat in his home and wasn't there ask him yet _another_ favor, as Dumbledore often did. To Severus, this was oddly comforting, although he'd never admit it even to himself. And, of course, there was nothing comforting about the look on this girls face. She was terrified, and was half expecting Severus to send her back home, and half expecting him to hit her. But when all Severus did was to sit down on the couch in the small dusty room, she wasn't sure what to believe.

Choosing his words carefully, Severus spoke in hope of getting the girl to speak after several moments of silence. But before he even had a chance to open his mouth, the girl's did. "Thank you" she said softly, looking up from her hands.

'Thank you' was not something Severus heard often. In fact, the only thank you he'd heard in years was Dumbledore thanking him for buying him the muggle candy lemon drops. Now that he'd heard it, Severus realized that he kind of…Liked it.

"You are welcome. Now, would you tell me how long this has been going on?" Severus said, trying to ignore the good feeling he got in his chest by a simple thank you.

"Well…" the girl began, looking scared and at the same time confused, "it's been going on since I turned eleven. I got a letter of some sort, from a school called Pigfarts or something like that. I didn't get a chance to open it before my mom got her hands on it, and once she saw what it was, she went insane. After that, she was cold to me. She didn't speak to me for at least a week and once she did, it was an insult. After that…I don't know…They both began to ignore me and only speak if it was something bad. Things just began to grow from then; a little slap here and there. Then it turned to a hit here and there, and soon enough, both my parents were hitting me when it suited them. And here we are today." The girl looked thoughtful for a moment, "Would you believe me if I said that this had been a calm day? It's been nothing compared to those days my parents are in a _really _bad mood."

As she spoke, things became clear to Severus; her parents hated that she'd gotten the magic gene, while her mother was skipped and her father didn't have a single magic bone inside of him. While he couldn't understand how both her parents hated her for it, Severus could sympathize. His own father had always reminded him how _dirty_ it was to have magic. His father had never liked his wife's magic side and once it became clear he had it too, Severus father hated his magic too. He could still remember his father's words; _'Severus, you are a freak. Why couldn't you have been normal?' _

They would forever haunt him, but he'd learned to live with it. Now he just had to learn this girl of her own powers and lean her how to become strong again and not let her parent's words and marks affect her. But before he could do that, he had to know her name.

"Tell me, what's your name girl?"

"Angela" she spoke softly, "My name is Angela."

"Well then, Angela, do you believe in magic?"

**A/N: **_**I know Severus is OOC, but I tried to make it the best I could. I'm not used to write in third perspective and I have a problem of not getting in emotions during this. Hopefully it wasn't too awful! **_

_**Leave a review if you liked it!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: I couldn't find a good healing spell on the internet that healed bones. As of that, I used Episkey, which is mostly used for minor injuries (like broken toes or lips). If anyone knows any better spell for this, let me know. For now, I'm using Episkey.**_

"Magic? Pulling out rabbits out of hats?" Angela asked, confused. Severus sighted. He knew she had no idea about the magic community, but he wasn't the most patient man. Now, how was he going to explain this so that she would understand?

"No, I mean magic as in spells. Witches and Wizards" Severus began to explain, and could see the girls, Angela's, face get the look of confusion. He was not good at this. "Alright," Severus started over again when he saw the hopeless expression on Angela's face, "I'm a wizard. You are a witch. Any questions from what you've learned?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Angela began to doubt her savior's sanity. Witches and wizards? The man was clearly mental! Convinced she could prove him wrong, Angela spoke two words; "prove it".

Of course, Severus had no choice but to prove it, as Angela clearly didn't believe him. Nodding his head in confirmation, Severus carefully took a hold of Angela's broken wrist and pulled out his wand from his robes. Giving the girl a look that asked her to trust him, Severus raised his wand and whispered the healing spell; "Episkey".

Angela let out a gasp as she realized she could now move her hand without any sort discomfort or pain. Although, as weird it was, she had actually not felt any pain in the wrist before, only discomfort. In fact, she had not had any pain since…Since Severus had given her that weird drink. Now that she believed it, Angela knew he'd used magic to remove that kind of pain.

"Why are you telling me this?" Angela asked once the information she'd just got had melted in. She couldn't understand why Severus had decided to tell _her._

"Because, Angela, you're special. You're a witch" Severus told her, and Angela didn't know what to believe.

"I'm a witch?! How is that possible?" Angela wasn't sure what to believe now; she knew he was telling the truth about magic, but why would he tell her she was a witch. Obviously, she'd known herself if she was a witch.

"Tell me, have strange things ever happened to you? Things you couldn't explain?" It was the best he could do at the moment.

"Yeah…Sometimes it happen things I couldn't understand. But it stopped once I turned twelve, so I didn't think much of it. Well, a few months ago, something like that happened. That's why we moved here" Angela said, deep in thought. Now when Severus had asked that question, Angela could remember several times something weird happened to her, or someone she wished something would happened to. "Am I really a witch?"

"Yes, you are."

"Is that…Is that why my parents hate me?" A warm feeling spread over Severus chest as he saw her innocent expression, but he also felt anger when he saw that Angela thought _she _was the one to be blame for her parent's violence.

"In a way, yes, but you are not to be blamed. I am sure of your parent's love for you, because they do love you, they just don't know how to show it to you. Your mother doesn't know how to show her love, because she is jealous of your magic. Your father doesn't know how to show you his love without hits, because he is scared. He is afraid of your magic. He doesn't understand it, since his wife never got a chance to use any. Therefore, they abuse you. Although true, these are not any good reasons to hit a young child. Angela, you have to get out of that house. I don't think your body can take much more abuse. What I am saying is…Would you like to stay with me?" After he finished speaking, Severus scolded himself. Of course wouldn't Angela want to stay with him!

The silence seemed to go on forever while Severus sat and cursed himself for making a ridiculous suggestion like that. Angela on the other hand, was jumping of happiness inside her head. She might have known Severus for less than a day, but she knew he had a good heart. The only reason for her hesitation was her parents; what would they do if they found out about Severus suggestion? She wasn't afraid of what they'd do too her, but what they'd do to Severus. If it hadn't been for them, Angela wouldn't have hesitated to say yes.

"I would love to…" Angela began to speak after a long time, "But what about my parents?"

"Angela…You can't go back there. But I will speak to them. Maybe I could convince them to understand you are the same person you always have been, but don't get your hope up. Even if I can get them to understand, there is no way that everything would get back to the way it was a few years ago."

"I know. But can you at least try? If it works, I'd want nothing more than to live with you" Angela said honestly. She didn't know why she could trust the man so easily, but something about Severus just made her feel…Safe. To get Angela feel like that didn't happen often; not even her parents could make her feel safe these days. So why could a man she'd only known for a short while give her that emotion?

To be honest, Severus didn't want to talk with the girl's parents. He had bad experiences with parents in the past (both his own and his students parents) and wouldn't like to go through that again- even though Angela deserved to get a chance. But Severus knew it would take a lot more than talking to get her parents to understand. But he would do for Angela, hoping that if she got closure, she'd come to live with him. Yes, for the first time in a very long time –ten years in fact- Severus cared more about another person other than himself.

He would do what he had to do to save Angela and give her security. And hopefully, he could give her that. He had failed once, but he was not about to do that again.


	7. Chapter 7

For a while, Severus spoke to Angela about the Magic society, and Angela listened with interest. Severus told her about Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Express and lots of other things. One thing though caught Angela's attention; the _Ministry of Magic_. She was very fascinated by everything the Ministry was working with, but one thing really caught her attention; _Muggle Liaison Office_. From what she'd gathered, Angela understood that _Muggle Liaison Office _was a division in the Ministry that worked with wizard-muggle relations. Although, since the lack of awareness of the wizarding world in the muggle world, it was presumed that the _Muggle Liaison Office_ fulfilled its duties in a one-sided manner.

The thing that caught Angela's attention was the relation between the two worlds. Just a few hours ago, she had no idea magic existed, and now that she knew, it was great. Therefore, Angela wanted to know more about just how many muggles knew of the other world, and she wanted to help with that. So, she decided, if she'd ever become a part of the wizarding community, then she'd become a Muggle Liaison. Of course, this was if she was allowed to become a part of it all; maybe she was too old, or had too little magic to become a witch. To calm her thoughts, Angela opened her mouth to ask Severus.

"Severus… Do you think that I could…Become a witch?"

"Angela, you already are a witch. All you have to do now is to learn how to control that power. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen. I'll be seventeen in a bit over a month", Angela responded, although confused.

"Hmm…" was all Severus said, deep in thought. Who knew what he was planning?

They spent another while talking about magic, but all too soon Angela had to go home. Severus was not pleased, but Angela insisted, saying that even though everything her parents had done, they were still her parents. So, ignoring Severus pleading not to go back, Angela strode home, her mood better than ever. However, that was soon going to change. After all, her father _had _promised to make her pay for telling on him to a wizard. Oh yes, Angela was going to pay.

Along with Severus, things weren't so great. Severus was beyond worried, but there was nothing he could do. Angela had made him promise not to follow her; she needed time with her so called _parents._ It was no unbreakable oath, but Severus couldn't break a promise coming from Angela. It was just like with Lily; he could never break a promise with her, and now it was the same with Angela.

To get his thought off of Lily and Angela, Severus made his way to the fireplace and flowed himself to Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, Severus my boy, I've been expecting you!" Dumbledore exclaimed the second Severus stepped his foot in to the office.

"What are you talking about Albus? I did not decide to come here until an hour ago."

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a mischief look, "so you did. However, I do believe you came here to talk about Angela, am I correct?"

Severus nodded, slightly suspicious about the headmaster, and began to explain. He explained Angela's situation, being a witch with no control of her powers, and asked (although reluctantly) Dumbledore if it was possible for Angela to go a year at Hogwarts.

"Of course I'd be happy to let Angela spend a year here, but it is not my decision. IT is up to the Ministry, and since I know Cornelius so well, I know he will be very interested to know more about this girl. It's not every day a girl at her age begins to study magic. I will take this up with Cornelius, and if everything goes well, we will have a new seventh-year next semester. For now, I will ask you Severus, to train her in the basic magic field."

"Albus, you know very well that children of age are not allowed to preform magic outside of this school."

"Ah, I know that very well. In fact, I have had first experience with that. However, what Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him."

"What about the trace?" Severus asked, not fully convinced it would work.

"Let me worry about that, Severus. For now, all you have to do is to learn Angela magic."

Still not fully convinced, Severus left Dumbledore's office with flames and soon found himself in his own house.

Thoughts of Angela came back to him, and he strode to his window, hoping to catch a look of Angela, to make sure that she was still alright.

He had no such luck; there was no sign of Angela in the small window across his own. After a few minutes, with still no sign of life in the house, Severus got really worried. Of course, it was possible that everyone was just in another room, but something inside of himself told Severus that there was something wrong- very wrong.

Severus had been correct- because in that moment, Angela was cowering in a corner, with her father standing over her, screaming.

"You worthless little wrench! You snitched on me! To a filthy wizard of all people! You will pay! Oh, you will pay!" her father screamed and moved his foot to kick the frightened girl. Then another, again and again.

In another room of the house, Anna Coleman flinched as her daughter's scream of pain was heard. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, Anna Coleman was not heartless. In some ways, she loved Angela, but in others… Anna couldn't help but to feel jealous of Angela; why did her daughter get magic and not her?

Anna, or Annabelle Hardy as she'd once been called, could still remember the taunts of her sister; the one with _magic_.

"_Oh, what do we have here?" her sister's voice was heard, "Oh, right, nothing. It's only filth. Filthy, little Annabelle; Anna, Anna, who is she? Is she anything? Hardly!" _

Her sister Jessica's bad song was still stuck in her head. It reminded Anna of what she really was; filth. So, why couldn't her daughter be the same? Now, her daughter only reminded herself of what she could have become.

So, yes, in some ways Anna loaded her own flesh and blood, but not even Angela deserved the wrath of her husband.

Making up her mind, Anna bolted for the door, and ran to the house next door. She only hesitated for a moment before she banged on the wizards door.

Severus, who'd still been standing by the window, quickly moved to the door when the banging began, thinking it was Angela.

He opened the door, only to see an older version of the Annabelle Hardy he used to know. Annabelle, or Anna as she was called these days, looked at Severus with tired eyes.

"Please help," she uttered quickly, "please help her."

"Help who?" Severus asked, before realizing what the woman meant.

"Angela." Before Anna had even formed the word, Severus was out the door, speeding to the house next door.

As he ran, he hoped to Merlin that he wasn't too late.


End file.
